Macclesfield Hibel Road railway station

Macclesfield Hibel Road
View northward, towards Stockport and Manchester in 1959
Location
Place	Macclesfield
Area	Cheshire East
Coordinates	53°15′50″N 2°07′27″W / 53.263931°N 2.124154°WCoordinates: 53°15′50″N 2°07′27″W / 53.263931°N 2.124154°W
Grid reference	SJ918741
Operations
Pre-grouping	North Staffordshire Railway & London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms	3
History
July 13, 1849	Opened
November 7, 1960	Closed
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Macclesfield Hibel Road railway station was a railway station serving the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire, England. It was opened as a joint station by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) and the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 13 July 1849^[1] with the opening of the NSR route to Uttoxeter via North Rode and Leek and it replaced an earlier, temporary, LNWR station at Beech Bridge.^[1] Built right at the point where the track of the two companies made an end-on junction,^[2] the station was managed by a joint committee of the two companies.^[1]

With the opening of the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway in 1871 the NSR opened a new station less than 500 yards (457 m) further south called Macclesfield Central.^[3] It had been hoped that the new line could run into Hibel Road but the LNWR objected to this and neither would the LNWR agree to share Central station.^[3]

Both stations remained open until 1960 when the decision was taken by British Rail to concentrate services on a redeveloped Central station. The refurbished Central station, now renamed simply Macclesfield, opened on 7 November 1960 and on the same day Hibel Road closed.^[4] The site of Hibel Road station has now been redeveloped.

Passenger train services

LNWR services to/from Manchester London Road terminated at Hibel Road but if they continued to Stoke-on-Trent via Congleton then many stopped at Central as well. NSR services either on the main line to Stoke or via the Churnet Valley line used both stations. Express trains between Euston and Manchester tended only to use Hibel Road.

Freight traffic

The area around the station was very cramped. To the south of the station was the NSR goods yard, which dealt mostly with coal for Macclesfield Gas Works. North of the station was the LNWR goods yard and the NSR Motive power depot (MPD). As the track north of the station was LNWR owned the NSR could only access its engine shed using running powers over the LNWR track.

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Prestbury LNWR		LNWR/NSR		Macclesfield Central NSR

Notes

1. Jeuda p. 4.
2. Jeuda p. 17.
3. Jeuda p. 7.
4. Christiansen & Miller p. 307.

References

• Christiansen, Rex; Miller, Robert William (1971). The North Staffordshire Railway. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5121-4.
• Jeuda, Basil (1995). The Railways of Macclesfield. Scenes from the Past 27. Foxline Publishing. ISBN 1-870119-44-4.